The 2019 Growing Rural Tourism Conference Presents: "Be the Change"

"The world as we have created it is a process of our thinking. It cannot be changed without changing our thinking."
— Albert Einstein

More speakers. More ideas. More tourism.

Growing Rural Tourism 2019 will feature a great selection of speakers and experts from across the country. Each of our speakers have been specifically chosen because they are exciting, dynamic and invested in using their sessions to educate our attendees.

Keynotes Speakers

Darian Kovacs

Darian brings over 15 years of experience in marketing, communications and public relations. Throughout his career, he has also been a founder and board member of various foundations and charitable organizations.

Through his award-winning company, Jelly Marketing, Darian has worked with various local, national and global brands building and executing on their digital & PR strategy. He co-founded the Canadian Internet Marketing Conference and he's been featured in BC Business magazine, Business in Vancouver and on the Canada Post training circuit. He is a contributor with Small Business BC, Entrepreneur, and both Rogers and Shaw's Business Resource Centre on topics of Social Media and PR.

As both an educator and practitioner, Darian's mix of stories, practical examples and takeaways leaves audiences feeling inspired and equipped to implement social media and PR strategies into their organizations.

Alan Gertner

A lover of technology, design and everything in-between, before Canopy Alan led a $+100M organization at Google in Asia. Alan is a proven leader in strategy and operations, including as a founding member of Google's first Global Business Strategy team while based in Mountain View, California. Alan was formerly a Management Consultant at Oliver Wyman in New York and graduated Dean’s list from the Richard Ivey School of Business, Canada’s leading business school, in 2006. As a youngster, Alan spent every moment he could interning at wild and weird startups - from building flashy flash websites to developing and selling the garbage bin billboard.

An angel investor and advisor outside of Canopy, Alan supports programs that empower the greater startup community, the cannabis movement and future generations of people pursuing their passions, including his own Time On Project (www.timeon.org), dedicated to self disruption, mindfulness and winning at life.

Adam Legge

Director at the Canadian Centre for Advanced Leadership at the University of Calgary

Adam believes in the potential of leaders to make their organizations remarkable and do work that can change their communities and the world.

Adam works with executives, leaders and boards to help them achieve remarkability through organizational renewal and transformation. Amidst the challenges of disruption, change and complexity, he uses a proven structure that will enable any organization to move from stale or struggling to remarkable. He brings over twenty years of experience in leadership, governance, strategy, culture and change to help his clients create greater impact, relevance and value as an organization. He is the author of Making Remarkable: How to Deliver Purpose, Inspire People, and Build a Platform for Exceptional Results.

Adam is a recipient of the Calgary Top 40 Under 40, and in November of 2017 was awarded a Canada Senate 150 Medal by the Senate of Canada to only 1,500 Canadians for their work and dedication in improving the quality of life in their communities.

Mike Armstrong

Brand Strategy Lead at Google

Brand obsessed, forever curious, and itching for transformative ideas, Mike draws on his experience building corporate-wide marketing for Kraft Foods, leading iconic brands such as Stella Artois and Budweiser, overseeing a content marketing group at the CBC, and finally consulting on behalf of Google for fortune 500 companies.

As a Brand Strategy Lead at Google, he studies bleeding-edge brand building tactics executed across the globe and engages with Canadian marketing executives to assist in propelling their businesses forward. As a trained facilitator within Google, Mike’s been taught the science, psychology, and conditions required to inject fresh ideas into everyday thinking and the workshops he leads. He’s also developed unparalleled expertise when advertising within one of the world’s most influential brands – YouTube.

Mike’s seen his campaigns scale to countries worldwide, won numerous industry awards, judged at local and international creative competitions, and recently had his work published on Think with Google.

Speakers

Introduction and Advice on Creating Stories for Facebook & Instagram

Sam Schofield

Owner of Mountain Drift

To meet the challenges of today’s business climate, Sam and his partner provide a unique, more personal approach to marketing and branding your business. Running a one-stop marketing and media company in rural Southern Alberta, their goal is simple: to help businesses succeed in small towns across the province.

Together they have witnessed change in the web, mobile and social media industries. Embracing technology to tell a story is at the forefront of their strategy when working with business owners. Today, they deliver brand loyalty programs through careful planning, design and education.

From Housewife to Award Winner - The Accidental Entrepreneur

Sheila Willis

Creator of History Check Mobile App

What started out as an idea to share historical sites and stories on a mobile app, turned into a project that is an all inclusive travel companion app through partnerships, cooperation and collaboration.

A self described housewife from the bush, in 2018 Sheila Willis received an Outstanding Achievement Award from Alberta Historical Resources Foundation in part for the development of the History Check Mobile App. Future goals include making History Check a province wide initiative, as well as taking it to an international market as a white label product for geographical regions and sector marketing and education.

In this interactive session, Sheila will demo History Check, show you how to participate as well as talk about the importance of creating alliances and partnerships, using social media, and stepping out of your comfort zone to “Be the Change”.

Making Memorable Experiences: An Introduction to Experience Development

Lisa Lima

Lisa J. Lima is a Cultural Explorer and Experience Development Manager for Edmonton and Central Alberta. She enjoys travelling throughout the province assisting industry stakeholders with tourism marketing and partnership development.Lisa gets a thrill when presenting workshops in her region and engaging in tourism conversations – it’s not just about the topic she is presenting, but also the sharing of stories and the learning between everyone in the room. Culinary Tourism is one of Lisa’s focuses; she works with the Alberta Culinary Tourism Alliance and is a member of Skal International.

You’ll learn about how developing great experiences can be your best marketing tool. And, you’ll be introduced to tourism experiences from Alberta and Canada that will spark new ideas on how you can develop or be a partner for a tourism experience that provides your visitors with a true sense of place.

More Speakers Will be Announced Soon!

Pre-Conference Workshops

Pre-Conference Workshops will be taking place on
Monday February 11th, 2019 from10:00 am — 11:45 am

How to Create Your First Successful Facebook Ad Campaign

Sam Schofield

Owner of Mountain Drift

To meet the challenges of today’s business climate, Sam and his partner provide a unique, more personal approach to marketing and branding your business. Running a one-stop marketing and media company in rural Southern Alberta, their goal is simple: to help businesses succeed in small towns across the province.

Together they have witnessed change in the web, mobile and social media industries. Embracing technology to tell a story is at the forefront of their strategy when working with business owners. Today, they deliver brand loyalty programs through careful planning, design and education.

Building Strategies for Partnerships & Packaging

Lisa Lima

Lisa J. Lima is a Cultural Explorer and Experience Development Manager for Edmonton and Central Alberta. She enjoys travelling throughout the province assisting industry stakeholders with tourism marketing and partnership development.Lisa gets a thrill when presenting workshops in her region and engaging in tourism conversations – it’s not just about the topic she is presenting, but also the sharing of stories and the learning between everyone in the room. Culinary Tourism is one of Lisa’s focuses; she works with the Alberta Culinary Tourism Alliance and is a member of Skal International.

Learn how partnerships can help you achieve your marketing objectives, and the steps to building more effective packages.

More Pre-Conference Workshops Will be Announced Soon!

WHY Should I Attend theGrowing Rural Tourism Conference?

Conference Scholarship

A PROGRAM TO SUPPORT LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT AND MENTORSHIP TRAINING

The Growing Rural Tourism Conference supports continuous learning and innovative educational opportunities for rural Alberta business. This year we will partially sponsor individual business owners or managers to attend the Growing Rural Tourism Conference.

WHO IS ELIGIBLE?

Individual business owners, managers and full-time students who:

Presently own and operate a full-time tourism business in rural Alberta or businesses looking to incorporate tourism products or experiences into their existing business

Students enrolled in a full-time tourism program
Students must include which post-secondary institution and tourism program (s) they are enrolled in

Are committed to lifelong learning

Willing to write a summary report and share their ideas and experiences with their community partners, consortia, chamber, colleges, etc.

Must be a first time applicant

WHAT IS INCLUDED?

The scholarship will pay 50% of a regular conference registration. All travel and accommodation expenses are the responsibility of the participant.

HOW DO YOU APPLY?

Applications are available here. All requests for funding support must be received by January 31st, 2019. Funds will be paid on your behalf directly to the Camrose Regional Exhibition.

WHAT IS THE SELECTION PROCESS?

Space is limited to 25 participants, and will be offered on a first come, first served basis to eligible applicants. The conference committee will review the applications and notify the successful candidates.

Alberta Shows Off

WHAT IS THE PURPOSE?

The purpose of Alberta Shows Off is to showcase Alberta made products and to assist conference participants in connecting with key services and resources and to provide participants with vital contact information.

WHAT IS INCLUDED?

The Alberta Shows Off evening has not been determined yet for the 2019 Growing Rural Tourism Conference. Please check back regularily to see when it will take place. Thank you!

Accommodations

There are a lot of great places to stay near the conference in Camrose. Below you can see the Growing Rural Tourism Conference Hotel Block: